Truth or Dare: Ranger Style
by WriterAtHeart2
Summary: Gilan starts a game of Truth or Dare, but then Rangers start to go missing. Who is this thief? *CHAPTER 20 IS FINALLY UP*
1. The Game Begins

**On my first FanFiction, I received some reviews saying that I needed more details. So, on this one, I tried my best to do just that. Enjoy! And don't forget to click that wonderful review button! :)**

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"Anyone in for a game of Truth or Dare?" Gilan said loudly.

Will, who had been shooting targets that Halt had set up, put his bow down and grinned. "I'm in," he said.

"Ask Halt to play," Gilan added mischievously. He already had some things in mind that he would dare Halt to do.

"Sure." Will said as he started toward Halt's home.

Will found Halt sleeping on the couch, his feet propped up against the coffee table.

"Halt?" Will said, unsure if Halt was actually going to reply.

"Hmm?" Halt answered, not opening his eyes.

"Do you want to play Truth or Dare with Gilan and I?"

Halt raised one eyebrow without opening his eyes.

_Wow, _Will thought. _That's impressive. I totally did not know you could do that. _

He tried imitating Halt. He closed his eyes and attempted to raise one eyebrow without opening his eyes.

"What are you doing?" Halt's voice caught Will by surprise. He opened his eyes to see Halt sitting up, eyes opened, and one eyebrow raised even higher than before.

Will grew red with embarrassment. "Um…I was just…" he mumbled.

Halt swatted his hand to show that it didn't matter. "Never mind. Now what were you saying about this game of Truth or Dare?"

Just then, Gilan walked in.

"Hey, Halt." Gilan grinned. "Up for a game of Truth or Dare?" he added casually.

"No," Halt said. "Get back to your training, Will. Gilan, go away."

Gilan sighed. "Please?" he said in a whiny voice.

"_No," _Halt said coldly. "Why don't you get me a cup of coffee instead?"

Gilan stood rooted to the spot. "I won't until you agree to play with us," he said defiantly.

Halt's eyes narrowed. "_Fine," _he said, looking annoyed. "But get me the coffee first."

Gilan grinned. Will started to do a small dance in victory. "Halt's going to play, Halt's going to play, Halt's going to play…" he sang.

Halt gave his apprentice a cold stare. "If one of you doesn't give me my coffee, it'll be 'Halt's _not_ going to play'." he snarled.

Will frowned. "Fine, fine, I'm getting it…" he said.

Moments later, Will came back with a cup of coffee, exactly the flavor that Halt had wanted. "Here, Halt, drink it quickly! C'mon, I can hardly wait until Gilan dares you to do something…" he started, before he realized what he'd just said.

Halt raised his eyebrow. "What did you say?" he inquired, giving both Gilan and Will suspicious looks.

"Nothing," Will said quickly.

Halt drank the rest of the coffee in a gulp. Will and Gilan were both steaming with excitement, but both were excited for different things. Gilan wanted to dare Halt to do something extremely dangerous. All Will wanted to do was see Gilan do exactly that.

Together, Will and Gilan dragged Halt outside and they all sat in a circle on the mossy grass. Gilan sat cross-legged, in a yoga position, and insisted that Halt and Will do the same. Will managed it easily but Halt was another story.

"How do you do this?" he said, frustrated, as he tried for the tenth time to copy Gilan's position. "I can't possibly bend my leg over _that _way, it has to be this way…no, that hurts…how about this way?" Halt finished, more twisted and bent than a pretzel.

Gilan inspected Halt's attempt at the cross-legged position, and then nodded, trying to keep a straight face. "Yes, well…I suppose that's good _enough_…but I recommend you take some yoga lessons from me…" Gilan said, trying to hide his grin but failing.

Meanwhile, Will was having a good time rolling on the ground with fits of laughter that he attempted to cover up as a severe seizure.

Halt gave Gilan a look that said, _If you don't shut up I'll shoot you with my bow and arrow. _

"Ahem. Right—so, let's start the game. Who wants to go first?" Gilan said, still trying to keep a straight face. He looked from Will to Halt.

"I'll go first." Halt said, eager to get this game over with. He could tell that this was going to be weird experience.

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**At first I rated this story K, but then I read the description. According to the description, to be able to rate a story K, it has to be free of violence. If you were wondering, there might be some violence in here. So now this story shall be rated K+. **


	2. Yoga Lessons

**Thanks for all the great reviews! Enjoy chapter 2, and don't forget to click that review button!**

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"Hold on," Will interrupted. "Can we invite Crowley to play, too?"

Gilan nodded thoughtfully at the young Ranger. "Yes, good idea, Will. Why don't you go saddle up Tug and then ride to Castle Araluen?"

Will smiled at Halt. The apprentice knew that Crowley was one of the few people who had the ability to poke fun at Halt. That had been the reason Will had suggested that Crowley should play.

Halt looked suspiciously at Will. Will tried to put on the most innocent face he could muster.

_It's going to be twice as entertaining with Crowley playing, _Will thought. He grinned at the idea.

Finally, after he had saddled up Tug, Will headed toward Castle Araluen.

Gilan smiled at Halt once Will had left. "While Will is getting Crowley, we should…" Gilan paused to think.

Halt suggested hopefully, "How about we get some coffee?"

Gilan considered the idea. "No, no. How about…oh, yes! Let's get started on those yoga lessons, shall we?" Gilan grinned broadly at the terrified look on Halt's face.

Halt opened his mouth to protest, but Gilan was already talking about all the stretches, splits and backbends that Halt would have to learn.

"So, Halt, since you're a beginner, we'll start with the warm-up stretches. Just stand up and put your hands like this…no, a bit lower…that's better…now spread your feet apart…NO, HALT! Not_ that_ far…yes, much better." Gilan instructed. He was enjoying the pained look on Halt's face.

Gilan continued, "Now stretch this way…good…now, the other way…LOWER! Okay, that's enough…and now stretch back again." Gilan grinned. "Do you think you've got that? Now show me."

Gilan eyed Halt carefully as he preformed the stretches Gilan had explained. Gilan was thoroughly enjoying this. He grinned as Halt repeated each stretch with a look of exasperation.

"Left, right, up! C'mon, my grandmother can move faster than that! Left, right, up!" Gilan shouted. Halt gave Gilan a sour face. He hated this as much as Gilan was enjoying this. "Yes, yes, now do the bend stretch!" Gilan continued to shout, blowing an imaginary whistle. "Faster! Good…now—no, no! You're doing it wrong! It's like _this…_uh-huh, that's right."

Halt was in the middle of "Bend, left, right, up!" when Will returned with Crowley.

At the sight of Halt doing yoga stretches, Crowley howled with laughter and Will nearly fell off Tug. They continued laughing and pointing at Halt as Gilan said, "Class is over, Halt! We'll have classes every Monday, got that?"

Halt glared at Will and Crowley angrily. "They look like over-hyper chipmunks!" he muttered.

Finally, when Crowley and Will managed to calm down, the four Rangers sat in a circle.

Gilan explained to Crowley about the yoga position, which made the Ranger commandant crack up again. He grinned at Halt as he managed the cross-legged position fairly easily. Halt's face turned even sourer.

"Now…remind me, who was going first?" Gilan said to particularly no one. He pretended to think, and then snapped his fingers like he had just remembered. "Right! Halt was going first!" Gilan grinned at the other three Rangers.

Crowley smiled. This was going to be good.

"Truth or dare, Halt?" Gilan said casually, but there was an unmistakable mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Dare," Halt replied, returning the mischievous gleam.

Gilan was delighted; it was exactly what he had hoped Halt would say. But, careful as to not to make Halt_ too _suspicious, Gilan raised an eyebrow to show false disbelief.

"I dare you to go a full twelve hours without drinking one drop of coffee." Gilan said, that mischievous gleam in his eyes brighter than before.

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**Now I bet you want me to write the third chapter as soon as possible, right? :) **


	3. Without a Drop

**I'm baaaack! :) Sorry I haven't been updating, it's been, what, a week? So, read and review! Thank you so much for being so patient! **

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Halt's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Twelve hours—without coffee!" Halt looked from Gilan to Will to Crowley and back again. "How about…something else?" Halt said weakly.

Gilan shook his head. "Nope, sorry, Halt. I already dared you." Though Gilan's voice showed sympathy, his face expression was the complete opposite. Gilan was grinning like a toddler who had been given a double chocolate sundae.

Halt was not happy. However, Will, Crowley, and Gilan were grinning like maniacs. "_Stop it," _he snarled.

"Stop what?" Will said.

"You know what I mean." grumbled Halt. He was in a very bad mood. "Don't try to trick—"

"Now, now, let's not fight," Gilan scolded. "It's a very babyish thing to do, you know." he continued. Will could tell that behind that scold, Gilan was really laughing his head off. But unfortunately, so could Halt.

The grim Ranger glared at Gilan. Sometimes he wondered why he had ever wanted an apprentice.

"We'll continue the game after Halt has finished the dare," Gilan explained. "Meanwhile, let's go get some coffee, shall we? Well, of course, Halt can't." Gilan got up and the others followed suit. They grinned at Halt as the grim Ranger miserably followed.

Inside, Halt watched the other Rangers drink their coffee. He stared weakly at a small puddle of the brown liquid that Crowley had spilled on the table. The aroma filled the kitchen, and no matter how much he hid his face inside his green-gray cloak, Halt could still smell the warm coffee.

It hadn't even been two minutes and Halt couldn't even stand it. How could he wait twelve hours? That was pure torture to the grizzled Ranger, that was for sure.

Finally, Halt couldn't stand it any longer. He reached his finger, and hovered it an inch over the small puddle of coffee. Now it was two centimeters away from touching the liquid…and then Halt touched it. He quickly reached his finger into his mouth, but unfortunately, Crowley caught him.

"No way, Halt. You are _not _going to drink one drop of coffee until your full twelve hours are up. Not one single, itty bitty witty drop of coffee." Crowley said, shaking a finger at Halt.

Gilan looked up and his eyes were wide. "Ooh, does that mean you're too chicken to finish this dare? Could this possibly be happening? Halt? Afraid of something?"

Halt felt a swirling sensation in his stomach. It was like someone had dropped a giant mixer in his stomach. The Ranger didn't want anyone to know that, in fact, yes, he couldn't possibly finish this dare. Which then meant that he was afraid.

Halt put on a weak face of courage. "Of course not," he said peevishly. "I'm not afraid of anything. I'm not a chicken, either. Being called a chicken is actually good, if you think about it." Halt added more defiantly.

Gilan showed a mock interested face. "Really? Is that so? How come?" he asked.

"Chickens lay eggs. They produce the meat we eat." Halt said simply.

Gilan frowned. Halt had a point, but Gilan wasn't ready to give up just yet. "Well, chickens are scaredy-cats." Gilan shouted triumphantly. Halt couldn't beat that.

Halt's face showed no emotion whatsoever. He replied in the same calm tone, "Before I answer, Gilan, can you answer a simple question for me?" Halt said quietly.

Gilan nodded.

Halt's little smile could be seen from under his dark cloak.

"What are trees?" Halt said mildly.

Gilan was now one-hundred percent confused. He thought this was a trick question. "Trees are…trees?" Gilan said, forgetting that you should never answer a question with a question.

Halt didn't say anything.

Then Gilan realized his mistake. "Trees." He corrected confidently, ashamed that he had forgot such a simple rule.

Halt nodded in agreement. "Right. Trees are trees. So what are swords?"

Gilan looked at his former mentor. Why was Halt asking such stupid questions? "Swords are swords." Gilan said.

Halt nodded again. "Good. Now tell me, what are chickens?"

Gilan still didn't know what the questions meant. If Halt was trying to teach Gilan something, it certainly wasn't working. "Chickens are chickens." he said, picking his fingernails. "Why are you asking me these dumb questions?" Gilan added, before Halt had a chance to ask another question, like "What are pants?" or something stupider.

Halt chose to ignore the question. "You said chickens are chickens, right?"

"Yeah."

"If chickens are chickens, cats are cats, am I correct?"

"Yes, I guess so…"

"Then when you said, 'Chickens are scaredy-cats', how can chickens be chickens and cats at the same time?" Halt finished.

Gilan's eyebrows crossed. At first he had no idea what Halt had just said, but after a moment of thinking, the idea dawned on him. "Oh…right. I…I guess you're right." Then Gilan sighed. "You win."

Halt turned back to his grim self. "Of course I won. I always win," he said coldly.

Halt got up from his seat, and checked the clock. Twenty minutes had already passed. Only seven hundred minutes left.

He sighed and prepared to leave the table. But Gilan called after him.

"Halt? What are Rangers?" he asked.

Halt sighed. "Rangers," he called back, annoyed that Gilan was asking him such a dumb question.

"Well, aren't Rangers also people?" Gilan called back, and this time Halt could sense the wide grin on Gilan's face.

"Rangers and chickens are different matters," Halt said.

Gilan frowned at his mentor's back. "You're only saying that to prove that you always win," he said glumly. There was a pause. "But you still have to go seven hundred minutes before you get a drop of coffee!"

Halt flinched at the reminder. But Gilan was telling the truth. Seven hundred more minutes of torture.

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**Did you like it? The next chapter will be up soon, definitely before next Wednesday. Now, if you review, I'll be so happy, AND I'll be in a really good mood so I'll update more often! Thank you so much for waiting...**


	4. The Brave Soul

Halt woke up. Had he fallen asleep? Bright sunshine streamed through the open window. His lips felt cracked and dry, and when Halt remembered his dare, he sulkily got out of bed to check the clock. He had spent seven hours asleep. He did the calculations in his head. One hour was equal to sixty minutes, which meant seven hours was equal to four-hundred twenty minutes, which meant that now he only needed to wait two-hundred eighty minutes for a drop of coffee.

Suddenly, those dry lips were nothing compared to what he felt now. It felt as if they were on fire. He felt like they were too dry to move even a millimeter. Halt felt like if he moved his lips, they would crack and fall apart.

Halt knocked quietly on Gilan's door. There was a groan from inside and then the door opened a crack. "Go away," Gilan muttered, rubbing his eyes. "It's three in the morning. Let a Ranger get some sleep!"

Halt forced his mouth open. "Go make breakfast."

"Make Crowley or Will do it." The door shut with a loud _SLAM! _and Halt was left staring at a wooden door.

Halt sighed. He knew one thing for sure: he hadn't taught Gilan some manners. Halt rubbed his eyes and went to get some cold water.

As Halt drank, it was like he had finally come to life…it was so refreshing. But Halt knew that something could never taste as good as his coffee. The water was good…but coffee was better. He could almost smell the coffee in the air. Halt longed for a nice cup.

Then Gilan, rubbing his eyes, and still wearing pajamas, entered the kitchen and gave Halt a suspicious look.

"It's water," Halt said innocently. He showed Gilan his cup of water. Gilan looked crestfallen, as if he had wanted to catch Halt drinking coffee.

"Go make breakfast." Halt said. He sat down, put his feet on the table, and continued to drink his water.

Minutes later, Will and Crowley came down.

Will looked excited. "How much time have you got left?" he asked Halt.

Halt replied gloomily, "Two-hundred eighty minutes."

Will looked even more excited. "That's a little over four hours! That means you skip breakfast coffee and mid-morning coffee!"

Halt flinched. He would have to wait a long time before he could have that precious coffee…

The next four hours went by very slowly. Halt stared weakly at the other Rangers drink their coffee. He watched as Gilan purposely prepared four cups of coffee, and then realizing that Halt couldn't have coffee, drank it all.

It seemed like all Halt did for the four hours was watch the clock. Two hours left…one hour left…twenty minutes left…ten minutes left…

Halt felt a growl in his stomach. _Coffee… _he thought. _Must…have…coffee… _

Halt's stomach growled even louder. Unfortunately, Gilan and the others heard it, too.

Gilan grinned. "You can make it, Halt, only two more minutes!"

Crowley smiled. "Gilan, you should've made Halt go a full day, that would be interesting…"

Gilan replied with a broad grin. "Well, I didn't want to starve the poor_ chicken_…"

Halt stared at the clock. One minute left. One minute. One minute. A second seemed like a minute.

Halt's stomach growled again, this time more fiercely. _I'm dying…I'm going to die…must…have…coffee…_ he thought , there were only three seconds…

Two…

One…

"YES!" Halt shot up in the air and grabbed Will's half unfinished coffee. He gulped it down like a madman, and then took Gilan's and chugged it down also. Crowley, who adored his coffee, quickly drank his cup of coffee before Halt could drink it.

Once Halt had drank about fifteen cups of coffee, he settled down. He seemed to be in a better mood now that he had finished his dare.

Gilan, Crowley, and Will, however, looked terrified that the fun was over.

"You're right, I should've made him go a full day," Gilan said miserably to Crowley.

"Let's go continue this game of Truth or Dare, shall we?" Halt said to the others.

Though still sad the fun was over, the others nodded. Then they walked out and resumed their cross-legged position.

Halt smiled. "Who's the brave soul? Which one of you will be my victim?"

Nobody answered. Nobody wanted Halt to dare them or ask them a question that they had to be truthful on.

Finally, Will made up his mind.

"I'll go," he said in a quiet voice.

He figured that nothing could be _that _bad, but oh, was he so very wrong.

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**I have a very interesting dare in mind...you'll have to wait until the fifth chapter to know what it is...:) Please review! **


	5. Will's Dare

**Thank you all for the great reviews! :)**

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Halt's eyes fell on Will. This wasn't what he'd planned; he had wanted Gilan to go next. But Will, Halt decided, would work as well.

Halt folded his hands and eyeballed Will slowly. Will seemed to show no emotion whatsoever. None at all.

Crowley grinned at Halt. "Well, what a brave boy, Halt. This boy certainly has courage. You've trained him well."

Halt smiled at Crowley. The Ranger merely replied, "The boy has natural courage, Crowley. True courage is never taught."

Gilan glanced at Will. "What do you say, Will? You ready? Halt's not going to play nice this time." Gilan gave Will a cheerful grin.

A weak smile crept up Will's face.

Halt turned to Will. "Now, Will, what do you choose? Truth or dare?" he said tonelessly.

Will's face screwed up. He didn't know what he should choose. If he chose 'dare', Halt was sure to make him do something tremendously dangerous. If he chose 'truth', Halt would take the chance to ask him something perfectly personal. And Will would have to answer it perfectly truthfully.

Will weighed the options in his mind. After a good amount of thinking, he came to a decision.

A defiant was in Will's eyes.

"Dare." Will's voice trembled slightly. Who knew what Halt was going to dare him to do?

Halt smiled. Or at least Will thought it was a smile. Well, his mouth curled up at the ends. But it wasn't the good kind of smile. No, not even close. It was the evil kind of smile.

Suddenly the grim Ranger seemed terribly menacing. "So…" Halt said softly. "So you've requested a dare. How very courageous of you. Let's see now…which dare should I use?" He tapped his fingers on his chin and put on a thoughtful face.

Will shuddered. He felt sick—like he was going to throw-up. He glanced Gilan and Crowley. They were whispering furiously to each other.

_They're probably betting on what Halt's going to dare me to do, _Will thought miserably.

Finally, Halt stopped. "I've got it," he said curtly.

"Well? What is it?" Gilan's loud voice rang out. "What's the dare?"

While the others had faces of anticipation and eagerness, Will was not one single bit eager to hear the dare.

Halt smiled evilly, which was the type of smile that did not suit him. He turned to Will.

"I dare you…"

Everyone was holding their breath.

"…to go four hours without opening your mouth." Halt paused, and then continued: "That means no eating, singing, talking, yawning, humming, breathing through your mouth, and making annoying noises.

Silence rang in the air.

Finally Gilan broke the silence. "You forgot burping."

Will frowned. "Hey! I don't burp!"

Crowley laughed. "Everyone burps, Will. Don't be afraid to admit it."

Will sighed. He didn't know what to do. He was horrified, irritated, and mad—all mixed together. How could he possibly ever accomplish such a big dare? It was preposterous. He wanted to curl into a ball and cry his eyes out. He immediately felt stupid for thinking that.

"You must be kidding," said Will. "That can't possib—"

"Wow, Halt! How did you _ever _think of that dare? It's superific!" Gilan interrupted.

"'Superific' isn't a word," Crowley corrected.

"Yeah, well, at times like this, it's handy to make up your own words. Because sometimes you just can't find the word that suits the situation" said Gilan. He smiled at Halt. "Isn't that right, Halt?"

Halt frowned. "I didn't teach you that," he said.

Gilan ignored Halt. "Hey, Will, you don't look too well."

Will pulled the horrified look off his face. "Ha-ha, I think you need glasses, friend. I'm perfectly fine, see?" said Will. He put on the best grin he could muster. He imagined himself as a mighty Ranger, which made Will laugh to himself because the image was hilarious.

Halt was back to his usual grim self.

"I'm going to sleep," Will said, though he wasn't one bit tired. He glanced at the dark night sky.

"Fine," Halt said. "But your four hours starts tomorrow morning when you wake up."

Will stomped off. All he knew was that life was about to get dreadful.


	6. The Invitation

**Thank you all for being so patient. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and, as always, don't forget to review! Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! :)**

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Will awoke the next morning feeling very grumpy. Knowing that in a few minutes his dare would start, Will quickly enjoyed the next few minutes by opening and closing his mouth.

Will hadn't noticed that Halt had woken up and was watching him.

"Your four hours starts_ now_." Halt said softly.

Will jumped. "Halt! I didn't know you woke up!" And instantly Will's hand was slapped over his own mouth.

Halt smiled in satisfaction. This was going to be an interesting four hours.

Will glumly followed Halt downstairs, and in a few moments, Crowley and Gilan arrived too. They both looked tired and worn-out, but the instant Gilan saw Will with his hand over his mouth, Gilan cheered up.

"Well, how well do you think you're doing so far?" Gilan said, forgetting than Will couldn't reply. "Oh, I forgot, you can't open your mouth now!" he chuckled. Will could've sworn that Gilan had done that on purpose.

By the end of five minutes, Will was bursting. He couldn't go another minute without talking. And it was also very uncomfortable breathing through his nose for so long.

And most of all, Will missed his coffee. He missed the wonderful feeling of opening his mouth and sipping the coffee.

Will tried to ignore his stomach's growls. He listened intently to the Rangers' conversation, but that only made the young Ranger feel the irresistible urge to talk and join the conversation.

Ten minutes had past. Will couldn't bear it anymore. And it had only been ten minutes. Four hours? Impossible. Will could imagine the newspaper headlines right now: _"Hero" Ranger Suffers from Truth or Dare Game! _

Fifteen minutes had past. Then—

_Knock, knock. _Someone was knocking on the door.

Crowley raced to the door. "It's Alyss!" he called.

Will felt a tug in his stomach. _Great, _he thought. _Just great. Now Alyss is here to see me embarrass myself to death. _

Alyss entered the kitchen. She spotted Will and rushed over. "Hi Will," she said. "I have an important message from Baron Arald."

She waited for Will to answer. But Will did not reply or even nod to show that he was listening.

Alyss frowned. "Well, anyway, the Baron invited you to a lunch party. It's this afternoon at eleven o' clock."

Still, Will made no reply.

Alyss's frown increased. "Do you accept the invite?" she asked in a serious manner.

Will nodded slowly.

Alyss opened her mouth, but Crowley cut her off.

"Will can't open his mouth," he explained. "We—er—_Halt _dared Will to keep his mouth shut for four hours."

The girl nodded. "All right then, the Baron will expect you to be at his lunch party this afternoon." Alyss straightened up, walked gracefully to the door, and left.

"Well, how peculiar that the Baron's invited _you _and not the rest of us, eh? I think you've gotten in trouble!" Gilan chuckled.

Will had been worried about the same exact thing. But that wasn't the main problem right now. What if, during the lunch party, the Baron asked him a question? What would Will do then? Would he reply or keep quiet?

Could he risk it?


	7. Doubts and Thoughts

"You know, Will, there's really no point of going to the lunch party," Gilan said. "You can't eat anything anyway."

Will froze. He hadn't thought about that. He knew Gilan was right. But it was too late. He'd already accepted.

Crowley grunted as he got up. "Breakfast time!" he called briskly.

Will's face fell. He was starving.

As Crowley prepared breakfast, the strong aroma of fresh coffee filled the kitchen. Will's mouth went dry.

Crowley, Gilan, and Halt started eating their breakfast noisily. Gilan purposely made _nom nom nom _sounds as he ate.

Will wished he could say right then and there, "SHUT UP, GILAN!" Too bad he couldn't. All because of this stupid dare. Why did he even agree to play Truth or Dare anyway? Will physically slapped himself. _I should've known, _he thought miserably, _I should've known. It's obvious Gilan would take the chance to torture me. _

Will paused. Then he continued the thought: _Actually, Halt tortured me. Oh well. I'll get revenge. Gilan for starting this freak game and Halt for torturing me. I'll get revenge, I will..._

Absently, he checked the clock. To his dismay, very little time had passed. Only about ten minutes had passed. Will passed his time by counting to ten and then starting back at one. He'd counted to ten about fifty times when there was another knock at the door. Will felt a surge of hope. Could it be Alyss, telling him that the lunch party was canceled?

Sure enough, it was Alyss, but she hadn't come to tell that the lunch part had been postponed. Instead, she hurriedly said:

"Will, Baron Arald just informed me that the lunch party starts at ten o' clock this morning, not eleven. He expects you to be there precisely at that hour."

Then she gracefully raced out the door and disappeared.

There was a moment's silence where Will checked the clock. It was nine-thirty already. Half an hour until disaster would strike.

Gilan grinned silently to himself. What could be so urgent that someone would eat lunch at ten o' clock in the morning? He made note of this to Halt and Crowley, and both Rangers nodded their heads in agreement.

"I bet you're in big trouble, Will. Why else would the baron invite you to lunch?" Gilan said.

Will thought about that. He supposed Gilan was right. But why? What had he done? Will racked his brain for any trace of crime that he had committed recently. Nothing came up.

_Maybe I really have done something wrong, _thought Will, _but perhaps I can't think of it right now._ _Maybe I haven't even done something wrong. Maybe the baron wants to congratulate me for something. Maybe he thinks I've done something well. Maybe..._

On and on it went, the list of maybes. Will could write a whole book full of the maybes he had right now.

Gilan noted the silence and asked a new question. "Why didn't you tell Alyss that you didn't want to go to the luncheon?"

Will glared at him. Halt and Crowley were silent.

"Oh, right. I forgot you couldn't talk." Gilan chuckled cheerfully. "Don't worry about it too much, Will. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

Again, Will wanted to open his mouth and shout back, "_'What's the worst that could happen?_' Are you kidding me? Right now I could list fifty tortuous things that could happen! If you gave me two minutes I could come up with 500!" It was the fact that he was stuck in dare-mode that held him back.

The half an hour went by rather quickly. Gilan, Crowley, and Halt drank more coffee, Gilan taunted Will some more, and then before he knew it, it was time to go to Redmont for the lunch party.

"Wait," Gilan said quickly. "We shouldn't let Will travel alone. He could open his mouth on the way and we wouldn't even know it!"

Crowley and Halt nodded in agreement.

Gilan smiled. "Who wants to accompany Will? Not me," he added quickly.

Halt and Crowley both looked at each other. "Not me," they said together.

Gilan frowned. "Halt's going to." he decided.

Now it was Halt's turn to frown. "Why me?" he said.

"Because you're the one with the supersonic archery skills. If Will opens his mouth, you'll be able to shoot him." Gilan reasoned.

Will cringed. He definitely didn't want to get shot by one of Halt's arrows.

"Any one of us can shoot," Halt protested.

"Yes, but you're the best one. You're the best archer in the Ranger Corps."

Halt sighed. "Fine," he said shortly. "Come along, Will."

Will reluctantly got up from his chair and massaged his neck. His mouth was dry; it was all cracked. He felt like he had swallowed a pound of sand. No, make that three pounds. His vision was foggy and he couldn't think clearly. He also had a headache that was mind-numbing.

Halt made an impatient gesture at Will. "We haven't got all day, Will. Would you mind speeding up? You're moving slower than a slug."

_Actually,_ Halt thought to himself, _Will hadn't moved at all._ He continued talking with a grim smile.

"No, actually, you're moving slower than a dead person."

Even Will had to smile about this. He followed Halt out the door and saddled up Tug. Halt did the same with Abelard. Then the two Rangers headed toward Castle Redmont.

When they arrived at the towering turrets of Castle Redmont, it was exactly ten o' clock.

Halt led Will up to Baron Arald's chambers. Halt gestured for Will to enter.

"Here you go. Have fun." Halt said grimly. Then he turned and left.

Will gulped and turned the knob of the door. Then he stepped in.

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**Excuse the randomness, but if you haven't already, could you please vote in my poll once you've finished reading/reviewing? Thank you! :)**


	8. The Disaster

In front of him, there stood a large, grand table. However, the table was bare.

The baron smiled. "Greetings, Will."

Will nodded pathetically. He wanted to say, "Greetings, my lord," but he couldn't do anything but nod.

The baron gestured for Will to sit down next to him. For the first time, Will noticed the other people sitting at the table: Horace, Alyss, Jenny, and George. Will took his place next to the Baron. On the other side of Will was Horace.

Horace grinned. "Alyss told me about your dare," he whispered. Will nodded dully.

Baron Arald held his hands out in welcome to the five friends. The apprentices smiled and nodded warmly.

"Welcome, apprentices. Before we discuss anything, we should eat. Servants!" the baron clapped his hands. Immediately servants came rushing about, some putting down heaps of platters onto the table. The other servants poured drinks into the guests' goblets.

Will was famished. He was ravenous. But he couldn't eat. All because of the stupid dare. Horace glanced uncertainly at Will. He knew that Will couldn't eat. The young warrior felt bad for the Ranger.

Baron Arald noticed that Will hadn't touched his plate. "Will, why aren't you eating? Here, have some potatoes, they're really delicious..." the baron heaped several helpings onto Will's plate.

Will didn't know how to reply. He was turning red. Then Horace interrupted.

"Will says thank you," said Horace loudly.

The baron, looking slightly confused, smiled. "You're welcome, Will."

Will smiled. He nodded in thanks to Horace, and Horace smiled back.

But Will still didn't eat or drink anything. He stared blankly ahead, wanting this lunch party to end. To just finish. So he could leave.

Will didn't notice it, but the whole time the baron was watching the young Ranger. He noticed how Will hadn't talked once through this whole lunch party. _How odd, _he thought to himself. _Will was always a huge talker. _

The baron had also noticed how Will was not eating or drinking anything. He knew that something was going on. But what? He stared at Will, not touching anything on his plate. He had been staring at the Ranger for quite a long time when Will finally met the baron's gaze.

Will hastily cast his gaze down. He knew the baron was suspicious. He couldn't just lose this game of Truth or Dare. He couldn't. He picked up his fork and stuck it into a potato. Then he held it up to his mouth. But his mouth didn't open. Will glanced at the baron to see if he was watching. He was.

The young Ranger didn't know what to do. He could either just eat the potato and lose this game or keep the potato there, inches from his mouth, for the rest of the lunch party. The second option seemed pretty stupid and the first was taking a huge risk.

Will met the baron's gaze again. He was still staring curiously at Will. Then, Will did something completely involuntary.

He opened his mouth. And stuck the potato inside.


	9. Confessions and Mysteries

**THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE 60+ REVIEWS! Enjoy this chapter. Please review. **

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Will chewed. It felt so good to eat again...

Then he realized what he'd just done. He gulped down the half-chewed potato and clamped his mouth shut again.

Horace, Alyss, Jenny, and George were all staring at him with wide eyes. Apparently the news about the dare had spread.

The baron noticed the silence. He looked up and met Will's gaze. He saw that Will was no longer eating. _Something is wrong... _said a voice in Arald's head.

Arald frowned. This was an abnormal behavior. Oh, well. He would have to see what would happen when the discussion was started. That reminded him—he needed to inform the apprentices about something very important.

Baron Arald cleared his throat. Will, Horace, Alyss, George, and Jenny looked up. They looked rather nervous. And Alyss was shooting nervous glances at Will.

"Well, I'm sure that you all know about the problem." The Baron shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Will was confused. What problem? He was a member of the Ranger Corps. He should have been notified right away.

The others seemed to know about "the problem". They, too, were shifting uncomfortably in their seats. Will showed Horace the best confused look that was possible.

Horace saw and understood. "The problem is...er...I don't know why the devil _you _don't know, I mean, you're a Ranger...anyway, the problem's been a problem since about two days ago." Horace whispered.

Will nodded for Horace to continue.

Horace continued uncomfortably, "Well, you see, the past two days have been turmoil. You probably haven't noticed it...but Rangers have been disappearing mysteriously. Nobody knows why they're disappearing, or how, but they've just...gone missing."

There was silence between them. Will wished he could ask questions. But his mouth wouldn't open. Horace opened his mouth but Baron Arald had begun talking again.

"I'm very concerned about...some certain Rangers who have served for the Ranger Corps so loyally. So I think it's time to start a group."

There were mutters of confusion among the apprentices.

"A group? What kind?" Will heard George say.

"What if we don't want to join the group?" Horace asked.

The baron waved his hands for silence. "If you all would quiet down, I would have explained. The group we will form will be consisted of only apprentices. They are the most unlikely to be captured."

There were more mutters of confusion.

" Surely you don't think we could find the missing Rangers, do you?" Horace said.

The baron waved his hand to silence the confused apprentices. He nodded in Horace's direction. "Actually, yes, that's exactly what we're going to do. Raise your hand if you would like to join this group."

All hands went up, even Will's. Horace's hand was the last to go up, since he wasn't very convinced about this whole thing.

Arald beamed at the apprentices. "Now we must name this group. Any suggestions?"

Alyss's hand went up immediately. "Searching for Rangers Group." she said.

Horace frowned. "That sounds stupid. How about 'Rangers Finding Group'?"

Now Jenny frowned. "That doesn't sound any better than Alyss's suggestion. I like 'Saving the Rangers'. We can call it STR."

Everyone nodded. They all agreed that STR was perfect.

Arald beamed. "Are we agreed?"

"Yes," said Horace.

"Yes," said Jenny.

"Yes," said George.

"Yes," said Baron Arald.

"Yes," said Alyss.

Will didn't say anything. Everyone was staring at him. He nodded weakly. His eyes were wide in embarrassment.

"All right," Arald said. "Any questions?"

One hand shot into the air: Horace's.

The baron sighed. "Yes, Horace?"

"I have two questions. First, why didn't you just make the craftmasters join this SRT group—"

"STR," Jenny corrected.

"Whatever." Horace said in an annoyed voice. "Why didn't you just ask the craftmasters join this group? Why us? I mean, I understand why you wouldn't make Halt and Gilan join, they could go missing, but why not Lady Pauline or Sir Rodney?"

Arald thought about that. "As I said, the younger ones are less likely to go missing. But the best answer I can give you is that there is a possibility that even Lady Pauline could go missing. Even though she, evidently, is not a Ranger."

Horace frowned. "But why? Why would Lady Pauline go missing? She's not a Ranger."

"You never know who's behind a crime unless you investigate it. How should I know if only Rangers will go missing? Maybe next some battleschool students will go missing." the baron replied.

Horace had to admit that Arald had a point. He asked his next question. "What if, for some reason, one of us—" Horace gestured to him and the other apprentices. "—were to go missing?"

"That's a good question. I really don't have an answer now, Horace. It's something that probably won't happen, so it's really no use thinking about it now." the baron answered. He looked weary and tired, even though it was only a little past eleven-thirty.

Horace looked unconvinced. Will felt the same. He didn't want Halt or Crowley to go missing...or even Gilan. Even though Gilan was annoying sometimes, he was going to be missed if he disappeared.

The baron spoke again. "Our lunch party has ended here. Thank you all for coming. You have my permission to leave."

Everyone got up. Will rushed toward the door. He wanted to get out of here. He needed to think. He bumped into Halt.

"Watch where you're going!" Halt said. The grizzled Ranger saw Will's guilty face. "You didn't open your mouth, did you?"

Will considered his options. He could either confess and live through an angry Halt, or lie and be guilty for the rest of his life.

He chose to confess. Will nodded slowly.

Halt took a double-take. "You did?" Halt raised an eyebrow. "Are you lying?" Will shook his head. He knew how Halt felt right now.

Halt stuck his head into the baron's chambers and called Alyss out. She looked nervous.

"Did Will open his mouth? Did he eat? Talk? Anything?" Halt asked. He sounded like Will when he'd just become a Ranger.

Alyss looked from Will to Halt. She sighed. "Yes." she said quietly. "Yes, he ate a potato. But that's it." she said defensively.

Halt's eyes widened. "You know what that means, Will," he said softly. "You're out of the game."

Will nodded. He hung his head low. He was ashamed and embarrassed.

"You can open your mouth now," Halt added grimly.

Will opened his mouth to let in a gulp of fresh air. It felt so refreshing, but the happy-warm feeling in his body didn't last long.

"Now it's time to tell Gilan and Crowley that you're out." Halt said.

Will sighed. "I have something to tell you."

Will knew that Halt would never see things the same way again when he told him about the missing Rangers.


	10. Missing

"You're kidding." Gilan said. His face was lit up with glee.

Crowley looked dazed.

Halt shook his head. "Nope. Alyss saw him open his mouth." Will and Halt had just arrived back at the cottage. Halt had told Gilan and Crowley that Will was out of the game.

Gilan did a happy dance, a broad grin plastered on his face. "Will's out of the game! Will's out of the game!" he shouted.

Halt turned to Will. "What was that thing you wanted to talk about?" he asked.

Will shifted uncomfortably. "I just learned that some Rangers have been disappearing the past few days. Nobody knows why or how. So the baron formed a group, consisted only of apprentices. I'm in it, so is Horace, Jenny, George, and Alyss. The group is called Save the Rangers, and we're supposed to find the missing Rangers."

Halt looked dumbstruck. Gilan guffawed. Crowley was silent.

There was a long, awkward silence. Finally, Crowley spoke.

"Well, I'd better get back to Castle Araluen. The Ranger Corps will want me there. I'll have so much paperwork, and we'll need to know which Rangers have disappeared, and oh...I'll have to leave immediately."

Gilan blocked the doorway. "You're not leaving until you take your turn in this Truth or Dare game," protested Gilan.

Crowley frowned. "But Gilan, you know I don't have the time. I really must get going, I—"

But Gilan cut him off. "If you choose 'truth', it'll be over really quickly and you can leave."

Crowley sighed. "All right, all right..."

The four Rangers went outside and resumed their cross-legged position.

"Truth or Dare, Crowley?" said Gilan immediately.

"Truth."

"Tell the truth: are you afraid that Halt or I or even you will disappear? Tell the truth, Crowley." said Gilan.

Crowley didn't hesitate. "Of course I'm afraid. I'd be worried about any of my Rangers. Now can I please go?"

Gilan obviously thought that was too short of an answer. Frowning, he nodded. "Fine."

Crowley smiled brightly. "I'll be back here tonight. Don't worry." Then he turned around the left.

It was silent again. Halt and Will were both staring at Gilan. Gilan was staring at Crowley walking away. And Crowley was staring at the thick trees in the distance.

Gilan cleared his throat. "Well, now the only person who has to take a turn in this game is me. I'll go tomorrow morning, when we're not as foggy-minded."

Everyone nodded. Then they all went inside and had a long coffee break.

After dinner, Halt and Will both went to sleep immediately. Only Gilan stayed up. He wanted to make sure Crowley returned.

Long after midnight, Crowley returned. He looked completely worn-out. When Gilan saw him, he sighed a breath of relief.

"How many Rangers are missing?" he asked Crowley.

"The good news is that there are only two missing." replied the commandant.

Gilan yawned and then went to sleep.

Crowley stayed up for a few more minutes doing paperwork, and then, he too, went to sleep.

The next morning, Gilan was the first one up. He went to the room that Crowley was supposed to be sleeping in, but when Gilan pulled the covers to say_ "Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" _Crowley wasn't under the covers. Gilan frowned. He checked all the other rooms in the house. No sign of Crowley.

All the commotion woke Halt and Will up.

Will yawned. "What happened?" he asked.

"Have you seen Crowley?" Gilan asked desperately.

Halt and Will shook their heads. "Why?" said Halt.

"He's missing! We have to search for him!" Gilan said.

The three Rangers searched the house.

"Crowley, if this is a joke, it isn't very funny!" Gilan said. He was getting desperate. Could Crowley have really have gone missing? This couldn't be happening.

They searched the house several times but there was no sign of Crowley. Halt even threatened to shoot Crowley if he didn't come out. But there was no Crowley.

Finally, the three Rangers sat at the table. There were mugs of coffee, but none of them wanted to drink it. They were facing a big problem right now.

Crowley had gone missing.

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**Crowley's missing...what will they do? Chapter 11 will be up soon! Please review...**


	11. Secret

**Before I start this chapter, I would like to say some things. First of all, please forgive me. I have not updated for at least three weeks. I am truly very sorry. Please forgive me.**

**Secondly, I would like to tell you _why _I have not been updating this story. The main reason is that I have trouble figuring out how to fit this story together. I had trouble working with the disappearance of Crowley, and how to fit Gilan's truth or dare in, and how everything should come together in the end. But no worries, because I have finally figured it out! I will now be updating more often. :D**

**Again, please forgive me.**

* * *

"This is bad," Will said. As if the other Rangers needed reminding.

"Halt, I think you should take Abelard and ride to Castle Araluen. You can be temporary commandant for now. It will take a couple of days, but I'll alert the other Rangers so they know what's going on," Gilan said.

Halt nodded grimly. "Will, while I am gone, I want you to stay at Castle Redmont. You'll be safe there. Gilan, come with me to Castle Araluen. I think it's time we create a search party involving a couple of other Rangers. Of course, I cannot go because I have to do a whole load of paperwork."

Gilan nodded. "Good idea, Halt. We should go right now, so we'll arrive there as soon as possible. Will, you can come with us. We'll stop at Redmont first; I'll explain all of this to the Baron."

The three Rangers dully went to saddle up their horses. They set off a moment later.

When they arrived at Redmont, Will was immediately sent to his prepared room. Gilan explained things to the Baron, and Halt and Gilan left moments later. They had a lot of business back at Castle Araluen.

At Castle Araluen, word had just been spread that Crowley was missing. Everyone was frantic — what would they do without their commandant?

* * *

Sweating, the two Rangers, one short but well-built, one tall and lanky, arrived at Castle Araluen's doors. They were greeted with worried looks from their fellow Rangers. Immediately, Halt went on to explain that he was temporary commandant, and that Gilan would be organizing a search party consisting of a few chosen Rangers.

The six other Rangers in the search party were immediately chosen: Ranger Bartell, Ranger Clarke, Ranger Skinner, Ranger Meralon, Ranger Geldon, and Ranger Berrigan.

Gilan clapped his hands together excitedly. "So," he said to his search party. "You Rangers ready?"

He told them to huddle up under a clump of trees.

"Rangers, I have a huge secret to tell you. You have to swear not to tell anyone...especially Halt."


	12. Revealed

**Another chapter! The last chapter was kind of short, sorry about that. Enjoy this chapter and please review!**

* * *

"What is it?" asked Ranger Skinner.

"What is what?" said Gilan, even though he knew exactly what Skinner was asking.

"What?" asked Skinner, now very confused.

"What what?" asked Gilan, who was starting to enjoy this "what" conversation.

"When I said 'what' I was asking what it is," said Skinner.

"I know — what is what? What 'what' are you talking about?" asked Gilan, grinning.

"What..._what?" _said Skinner. He was frowning deeply. "Gilan, you know perfectly well what 'what' I was talking about."

"Actually, I don't—" said Gilan.

Ranger Meralon stepped forward. "We're wasting our time, Gilan. Just tell us what the secret is."

"Oh!" said Gilan, pretending to be surprised. "Well, I was just getting to that, _if Skinner hadn't interrupted me._"

"You sound like Halt," Ranger Geldon said unnecessarily.

"Who do you think my mentor was? Some crazy fellow from Skandia?" Gilan said hysterically.

Ranger Clarke cleared his throat. "_Hem, hem._ I think we should move on," he advised. "And let Gilan say what he has to say."

"Right," said Gilan, stepping forward once more. "As I was saying, I have a big secret that you can tell _no one. _Especially Halt."

"Why—?" started Ranger Berrigan, but Gilan cut him off.

"You'll see why later," Gilan cut in. "But first I need you six to swear not to tell anyone. Or I will cut your heads off."

Nobody wanted their heads cut off, so they all swore solemnly and truthfully. "All right," Gilan said, after everyone had swore their secrecy. "My secret is that I am the one who has been taking the Rangers."

Gasps came from every Ranger, and two of them backed away, as if afraid they were going to be taken also.

Ranger Berrigan, who was one of the Rangers that hadn't backed away, said: "Why would you do that, Gilan? Why? You've caused so much trouble!"

Gilan took a deep breath. "You swore your secrecy," he reminded them. Then he answered Berrigan's question. "Because it's almost Halt's birthday."

All the Rangers frowned. "How does that relate to our problem here?" asked Ranger Geldon.

"Don't you see? I'm planning a surprise for Halt's birthday!" said Gilan incredulously.

"And...?" said Berrigan, who still did not know how Halt's birthday and stolen Rangers fitted together.

"_And, _the stolen Rangers will help me make the party a success," answered Gilan.

"But why didn't you just ask them? Why did you have to kidnap them and make everyone all freaked out about it?" asked Ranger Merlon.

"Because it has to be a huge surprise," said Gilan. "Halt would be bound to find out my plans and ruin them if I just did it verbally. So, I did it physically."

"So where are the stolen Rangers?" asked Ranger Clarke.

"In a forest," said Gilan simply.

"In a forest?" repeated Ranger Skinner. "Which one?"

"You'll see," said the lanky Ranger.

"How will we see?" said Ranger Bartell.

"_Because," _said Gilan, "I'm taking you to the stolen Rangers. But remember, you swore. You can't tell anyone about it."


	13. Humiliated

"Is it nearby?" asked Ranger Berrigan, as the seven Rangers were preparing their horses for a trip.

"Oh, yes, very near," answered Gilan. He sounded too casual.

After the seven Rangers had prepared their horses, they set off, following Gilan's lead. They soon arrived at a large forest. Gilan gestured for the Rangers to tie their horses to a cluster of trees, and the Rangers set out into the forest, not knowing what was next.

* * *

After about five minutes of walking into the heart of the forest, they seven Rangers arrived at some sort of clearing. There was a circle of tree stumps, on which four Rangers were seated. One of them was Crowley.

"Crowley! Are you all right? Gilan should punished for doing such a horrible thing to you, Crowley!" Ranger Skinner said.

Gilan looked offended. "I haven't really done anything wrong," he insisted.

Ranger Berrigan glared. "Oh yes you have," he snapped. "Crowley, you should punish Gilan for doing such a thing..."

"It's okay, Berrigan, I completely understand what Gilan is planning to do," Crowley said with a grin. "I think the idea of celebrating Halt's birthday is hilarious myself."

Berrigan looked taken aback. "Oh...well, if you think it's okay..."

Gilan cleared his throat. "All right, Rangers, now that you all know about Halt's birthday party, I'd like to clear some things up. I'll be assigning each of you jobs—like getting supplies or inviting more people to Halt's party. Does anyone have questions?"

Ranger Skinner raised his hand. "How old will Halt be turning?" he asked, hiding a grin. He knew it wasn't going to be a small number.

"Sixty," Gilan replied. At this, most of the Rangers cheered. "Anybody else have a question?" Gilan glanced at his group.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," said Ranger Bartell. "This is completely insane."

"Right, now I'll assign each of you your job. I'd like to remind you Rangers that you swore your secrecy. Bartell and Crowley, I want you two to ride to Redmont, and 'kidnap' Lady Pauline and Sir Rodney. I'll need their help later." Seeing Bartell's confused face, Gilan explained further. "Crowley can explain how to 'kidnap' people," Gilan answered.

Bartell and Crowley nodded. Crowley got up from his tree stump, walked over to a shaded group of trees, and began explaining the process. Then Gilan instructed the other Rangers to do other things. Finally, everyone had a job to do. This party was going to be a success, Gilan just knew it.

"Gilan? What are you going to be doing?" asked Ranger Meralon.

Gilan grinned. "I'm going back to Castle Araluen."

Berrigan looked up. "What for?" he asked.

"It's time for Halt's second yoga lesson," Gilan replied, cracking up. Through all the commotion these days, he'd almost forgot it was Monday again.

"_Yoga lessons?" _said Ranger Geldon. "Are you kidding? Why the devil does Halt take yoga lessons from you?"

"Long story," said Gilan, still grinning broadly. "I'd better get going."

The other Rangers watched as he got onto Blaze. They all wished they were back in Castle Araluen, so they could watch Halt's yoga lesson. Gilan saw their wistful looks.

"You can watch next time," Gilan said with a smile. "I want you to come back to this forest by seven o' clock. I'll be back then and I'll tell you all what to do next."

The Rangers all nodded, preparing to leave the forest.

* * *

Gilan arrived at Castle Araluen. He searched for Halt, but he wasn't anywhere to be seen. "Halt!" Gilan called, poking his head in rooms. "HALT!"

Finally, the short grizzled Ranger bustled out of one of the rooms. "Gilan! What are you doing here?"

"Halt, didn't you remember? You have your second yoga lesson today!" Gilan said. Halt frowned. "Fine...there's a free room over here..." he said quietly, so no one would hear.

"No, no, Halt! We're going to do your yoga lesson in public!" exclaimed Gilan, pulling Halt into the large corridor. "Come _on..."_

"Public?" Halt said. He was speechless. "No, Gilan, not _public..._you'll humiliate me! I'll lose my reputation!"

Gilan rolled his eyes. "Come on, Halt, it'll be funny." Gilan stationed Halt in the center of the hallway, and started loudly explaining different bends that they would learn this class. They would also review old stretches from last class. Halt, however, was not listening. He was dreading what would happen if someone saw him, doing these stupid yoga things. _I'll be expelled from the Corps, _thought Halt miserably.

"Right, so I want you to start with the stretches that I taught you last class. You know, the bend stretch. Go on," Gilan instructed. He looked around. To Gilan's delight, a Ranger had come, just out of curiosity, to watch Halt. He burst out laughing when he saw Halt doing yoga. "Halt! I didn't know you had yoga lessons," he said between fits of laughter.

The laughing attracted more and more Rangers, until the hall was filled with people staring curiously at Halt and Gilan.

"Halt is having a yoga class with me!" Gilan announced to the crowd. "Please stay and watch!"

Halt could have died. He wanted to die. This was the most embarrassing moment of his life. "I. Will. Get. You. For. This," Halt said to Gilan through gritted teeth. He bent down to perform a stretch.

" Halt, now you get to do backbends!" said Gilan happily.

Halt groaned. "I'm too old for backbends," Halt protested. "My back is too feeble."

"Now, now, no excuses, Halt," said the lanky Ranger. "Just do what Gilan says. Bend backward...that's good..."

The crowd was cheering like mad; everyone's eyes were on Halt. This was the most amusing thing that had ever happened in their lives: Halt. Doing yoga.

"...would you look at that! Halt is doing a backbend! Wow, that is something to marvel at," bellowed Gilan, waving his hands at the crowd. "Amazing!"

Sure enough, there was Halt, in the center of the hall, doing a weak but unmistakable backbend. The crowd gaped and cheered, shouting furiously. They had never seen such a thing.

Finally, Halt's back gave up and he collapsed to the floor. For some reason, he kind of..._enjoyed _the attention. But just _kind of. _He still had to get back at Gilan for doing this.

Meanwhile, Gilan was shouting furiously at the crowd. "I'm open for free yoga lessons! Any day of the week, any time! Just sign up here!" Gilan help up a piece of parchment. Immediately, Rangers came rushing up to Gilan, all wanting to sign up for Gilan's yoga classes. The parchment was completely filled with names, back and front, by the time the yoga lesson was over.

"Same time next week, Halt!" Gilan called.

Halt was too humiliated to reply.

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**HAHA! :) It was really fun typing Halt's second yoga lesson. I hope it was fun reading it. Please review. Thank you.**


	14. Afterward

It was a few minutes before seven o'clock. Gilan quickly rode back to the forest, grinning wildly.

"How'd it go?" asked Ranger Geldon, who was in the middle of taking an untidy version of Lady Pauline out of a sack. Lady Pauline looked very confused when she saw where she was.

"Oh, it was hilarious," said Gilan, chuckling. "Halt did a backbend and everything."

Several Rangers burst out laughing. "Did Princess Cassandra or King Duncan see?" asked Crowley, who was taking Sir Rodney out of a sack.

Gilan thought back to the yoga lesson. Maybe he'd seen Cassandra or King Duncan somewhere in the crowd...

Gilan searched the crowd, looking for the two faces...yes, there was Cassandra's bright face...and right there, there was Duncan's serious face, but still lit with laughter...

"Yes," said Gilan. "Yes, Cassandra and King Duncan were there."

Everyone laughed, even Lady Pauline and Sir Rodney, though Gilan knew they had no idea what was going on.

"So...why are we here?" inquired Sir Rodney, a little impatiently. "Why did you put me in a sack and carry me to the middle of the forest? I was in the middle of a training session—"

"Ah, yes, I was getting to that, Sir Rodney. You see, it is going to be Halt's sixtieth birthday in a few days, and I thought it would be nice to, you know, plan a little party or something. Since Halt was bound to find out my plans if I spoke them aloud, I kidnapped Rangers—and you and Lady Pauline—to help me make my party a success. I want this party to be secret, so you have to swear not to tell anyone about it," Gilan said.

Lady Pauline nodded. "All right, I swear not to tell anyone."

Sir Rodney was a little less keen, but he finally let in.

"All right, now that you all know what's going on, you can take a break for today. Of course, my 'search party' and I must return to Castle Araluen. Meanwhile, you—" Gilan pointed to the remaining Rangers, Lady Pauline, and Sir Rodney, "—will stay here."

"What do you mean, 'stay here'?" Lady Pauline asked. "Here in the woods?"

Gilan nodded. "Yes, of course that's what I mean. Don't worry; we have thick sleeping bags and a big supply of reinforcements. We also have nets, if you don't want night bugs coming at you. Crowley knows the way to do it; he'll help you if you need something. Won't you, Crowley?"

"Er...yes, of course," Crowley said, as though he had not been expecting this.

"Good," Gilan said matter-of-factly. "I will be back tomorrow."

Gilan and his crew rode back to Castle Araluen. When they arrived, Gilan bode them a good night. "Remember, if anyone asks if we've found anything, say 'no'. Got it?" he told the Rangers.

They nodded sleepily and disappeared into different rooms.

* * *

Gilan pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. He was going to send Will a letter explaining everything, from Halt's birthday party to the missing Rangers.

Proofreading his letter slowly, and finding no mistakes, Gilan walked drowsily to his bed. He'd send the letter in the morning.

It had been a long day. And tomorrow, Gilan predicted, would be the same.


	15. Discomfited

**Chappie 15! :) I really appreciate all the reviews for this story! Enjoy!**

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"Will! Will, someone sent you a letter!" Alyss called, waving a large cream-colored envelope in the air.

"Who is it from?" asked Will, peering at the envelope curiously. "It doesn't say who it's from."

Alyss frowned. "I don't know," she mused. "Just open it and maybe there'll be a signature in the letter. Bye, Will!" She turned around and started back down the hall.

"Hmm." Will stuck his finger under the flap and ripped the envelope open. Without thinking, he started reading aloud: "_'Dear Will, I have a huge secret to tell you._ _Don't tell anyone or I will bust your head off. You'd better not be reading this letter aloud—'"_

"Whoops," Will said quietly. He went back to his room and continued reading, this time in his mind: _'You know about the missing Rangers? I am the kidnapper. I kidnapped the Rangers because it is almost Halt's sixtieth birthday. The kidnapped Rangers will help me plan the party. I want you to tell Baron Arald to discontinue your STR group. If he asks why, you can tell him that Gilan already has a search party and doesn't need more help. Do not tell anyone about what I just told you—not even Alyss or Horace. I don't trust them. So remember, Will, this is a secret between us. Keep the promise or I will bust your head off. It won't be pretty. Signed, Gilan.'"_

Will nearly fell off his chair. Gilan? _Gilan? _GILAN? He used to look up to him, but now he wasn't so sure. He didn't want a kidnapper as a role model. But then again, Gilan was doing it for a good cause—a birthday party. Will grinned at the thought. Halt was turning _sixty! _That was news for him. But the fact that Gilan was kidnapping Rangers was bad. Very bad.

"Well, I'd better keep it a secret or I'll be headless," Will said. He folded up the letter, put it back in the envelope, and hid the envelope inside his pillow.

He walked outside, trying to look as if he had _not_ just learned something very bad.

"Ouch!" cried a voice in front of him.

"Huh?" Will said, his eyes focusing. He saw Horace on the ground, looking annoyed.

"Horace! How did you fall? Are you all right?" said Will, bending to pick Horace from the ground.

"So now you act all nice?" Horace muttered, straightening up. "Will, I'm fine! You probably weren't paying attention to where you were walking. You bumped into me."

"Oh..." Will said, feeling stupid. "Sorry."

"It's no big deal. Why do you look all guilty?" Horace said, inspecting Will closely. "You look as if you've just learned something bad."

"It's nothing," said Will, "I was just guilty because I made you fall."

Horace, who thought that was a horrible excuse, scratched his head. "Oh, well, if that's what you're all sad about, don't feel guilty. I'm perfectly fine!"

Will nodded, his attention completely off Horace. He had just realized what huge trouble Gilan was in—kidnapping Rangers just for fun! King Duncan would surely be furious if he knew. Halt would...well, Will didn't want to think about what Halt would do if he knew what Gilan was doing.

"Will? Earth to Will!" Horace called, waving his hand in front of his friend. "Hullo?"

"Huh?" Will said lamely, "What happened?"

"Man, what is with you today? You're all...out of focus and everything. Are you sure you're all right?" Horace said, looking worried.

"No, I'm fine," said Will. "I'm just tired."

"But it's nine in the morning!" Horace reminded him. "Are you _sure _you don't—"

"I'm fine!" said Will, a little rudely. "Just leave me alone!"

"Okay, okay...well, have a nice day," Horace said, rather disappointedly, as he turned around and headed back to the Battleschool.

Will immediately felt regretful for being so mean to his friend. He wanted to say sorry, but Horace was already gone.

He turned around to head back to his room, but bumped into Baron Arald.

"Why, hello, Will!" the Baron said. "I was just looking for you. I was planning to have an STR meeting today. What do you think?"

"Um...actually, my lord, I...you...should stop the STR," Will said, feeling awkward.

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**I know this is a bad ending to a chapter, but I needed somewhere to stop. Chapter 16 will be up soon. Thanks for reading.**


	16. All Because of Gilan

**Chappie 16! :D Thanks for the awesome reviews!**

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The Baron's brow furrowed slightly. "And why is that, Will?" he asked gently, as if he thought Will was kidding.

"Well, you see, my lord, Gilan already has a search party," Will said, "And they don't need help." Will thought that sounded a bit rude, but it was what Gilan had told him to do.

"Ah..." Arald said to particularly no one, "Yes, in that case..."

Will waited patiently for the Baron to make up his mind.

"Yes," Arald said, this time to Will, "I shall notify the apprentices that we will no longer have this STR group. Thank you for telling me, Will," Arald finished with a smile.

Will nodded solemnly, but in a kind way. Then he turned around to return to his room, where he would inspect this letter Gilan had sent him.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in Castle Araluen, Gilan was holding a yoga lesson with Princess Cassandra. She had insisted that Gilan teach her, though her father thought otherwise.

"You are a _princess_, Cassandra,"King Duncan had said, "And princesses do not learn yoga."

"But father," Cassandra had replied, "It will be fun!" And then she had bounced off to find Gilan.

Now, Gilan was teaching Cassandra how to do all sorts of warm-up stretches and whatnot. She was excelling at yoga, Gilan knew. She had it in her blood.

"Good, Cassandra! Keep up this excellent work and you'll be ahead of Halt." Gilan laughed, seeing Cassandra's flushed face. It was fun seeing how hard princesses could work.

After a few more tips and compliments, the yoga class was over. "You'll be at Halt's birthday party, right?" Gilan asked.

"Of course! I'll tell my father and he'll see if he can come also," Cassandra replied cheerfully. She had heard that this party for Halt would be spectacular—and one that was not to be missed.

Gilan waved good-bye, and started preparing for his next yoga class which would start in a few minutes. He had a packed schedule now that he was teaching yoga. But he still made sure he had time to go to the forest, where the "kidnapped" Rangers (_and_ Lady Pauline and Sir Rodney) were kept.

* * *

"Arrgh, Crowley, can I have some more of that ointment? I think I have another bug bite..." Sir Rodney groaned. He was practically blooming with red bumps, despite the warning from Crowley that there would be mosquitoes.

Crowley grinned. "What did I tell you?" He handed the Battleschool master the almost-empty container of ointment.

Strangely enough, Sir Rodney was the only one in the forest with so many mosquito bites. The others had one or two bites, and some people, like Lady Pauline, had none. Sir Rodney had noticed this. "Why am I the only one with so many bites?" he asked, with an annoyed look on his face.

Crowley pondered on this for a moment. "Maybe it's your armor," he replied. "Maybe mosquitoes are attracted to that kind of metal."

Crowley's theory made sense, since none of the others wore shiny armor.

"Is it lunchtime yet?" asked Sir Rodney, who was eager to change the subject. He didn't want anyone insulting his armor.

Crowley looked up at the sky, and judging by the sun, it was, in fact, lunchtime. He nodded at the others.

"What's for lunch?" asked one of the Rangers, "I'm starving. I hope it's not that old stew we had yesterday..."

Crowley almost grinned. "Actually, yes, that's what we have to eat. It's all we have left."

Several Rangers groaned.

"Why did Gilan leave us with this old food? If he expects us to survive, he should've given us more edible food," another Ranger commented.

The Rangers, Lady Pauline, and Sir Rodney all murmured in agreement.

It was true; all Gilan had left the people with was two packets of old stew mix (which would not last for long), and seven canteens of water. The water had been finished by the end of the first day; thus, the Rangers, Pauline, and Rodney had to drink water from a nearby stream. Of course, whenever Gilan and his "search party" came to visit the forest, they always brought several canteens of fresh water and more of that old stew mix with them. Sometimes, if the "kidnapped" Araluens were lucky, Gilan brought some bread.

The foresters were all hoping Gilan would visit them today, and hopefully bring some new food for a change.

"I don't know why I even agreed to help with this birthday party," said one Ranger.

"Hey now, no complaining," Crowley said matter-of-factly. "Be grateful for what you have." But really, Crowley was tired of the stew mix too. He made a mental note to punish Gilan in some way after the birthday party was over. What Gilan was doing was very nice, but it was very appalling, since so many Araluens back in the Redmont area were panicking that more and more people would go missing. It was probably a giant blur of confusion back in Redmont.

That was indeed true. Back in Redmont, nobody knew who to trust, nobody would go anywhere alone, and everybody was worried, confused, and troubled.

All because of Gilan.

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**Heheh, don't mean to be offensive, Gilan, but yeah, all this trouble was caused by YOU! You, you, you, YOU, you, YOU, you, YOU, YOU... *rattles on and on and on and on* **


	17. New Rations

**Chapter 17! I have no idea how many chapters this story will have; probably around twenty. Please review.**

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Gilan arrived at the small forest, where the kidnapped Araluens were currently staying. Leaving his horse, Blaze, near a large oak tree, he silently crept into the dark woods, his hands each grasping one bag of rations. He'd decided to play nice this time, and instead of the old stew mix, he brought two large loaves of bread and several extra canteens of water for the hungry Araluens—just because he was in a good mood. Yoga always lifted his spirits.

Arriving at the clearing he knew so familiarly, he set down the bags of food and froze with disbelief: the clearing was dubiously empty, and not one rustle of the leaves could be heard. All the sleeping bags he had supplied were nowhere in sight, there were no leftover stew mixes and there weren't even empty canteens lying around. The wind seemed to have stopped in this area; back where Blaze was stabled, the wind was pushing like it was a child desperate for his share of ice cream on a blazing, warm day.

_Impossible, _he thought. The others couldn't have gone very far; the forest was full of dangerous monsters and creepy crawlies—or so they thought. Gilan knew this forest was as unharmful as a jar of mustard.

He decided that he should leave; he had a yoga lesson scheduled in ten minutes. If Crowley, Lady Pauline, Sir Rodney, and the others did not want to come out, let them be. Gilan didn't have time to search the forest like a child playing hide-and-seek. He didn't need to say anything important to them anyway. And besides, he had business to complete back at the Castle.

"I brought your rations!" Gilan called briefly, and, receiving no reply, he got up abruptly and headed out of the heart of the forest. He got back onto his sturdy Ranger horse, odd thoughts swirling in his mind.

He felt a little scared. Why would they hide from him?

Something was probably wrong.

* * *

Back in the forest, the kidnapped Araluens were silently giggling to themselves, all of them hiding behind different trees or bushes. They'd wanted to give Gilan a scare, and by the looks of it, they'd done a pretty good job.

"You guys can come out now!" Crowley's voice rang through the forest, and the hiding Araluens crept out of their hiding spots, pleased that Gilan had brought better rations.

"Finally! That old stew mix is gone!" Crowley gasped, ripping a chunk of bread off the loaf, unmistakably famished.

"Well, my bug bites aren't," Sir Rodney complained, itching at a small bump on his neck.

"The more you itch, the itchier it gets," Crowley advised.

"That's helpful," Sir Rodney scoffed. Now he was itching at a bump on his nose.

Crowley rolled his eyes and handed Rodney and ointment, which, after two more uses, would be gone. "I have to tell Gilan to get more ointment..." Crowley reminded himself.

"Tell him to get _lots_ of it!" Sir Rodney insisted. Finally, deciding that he'd itched his bites to the full maximum, the Battleschool master went to get some food.

Crowley reminded himself that he would be done with this horrible forest-life in two days. That's when Halt's birthday party would be. The Araluens had done a pretty good job getting people to come to the party. They'd arranged for food to be delivered, they had decorations hidden, and Halt would receive one present—from everyone.

That one present would be sure to make Halt smile. Gilan was going to do his turn of Truth or Dare as Halt's birthday present. The senior Ranger would do it in front of everyone—and Halt, the birthday man, would get to dare him or ask him a truth question. It would be epic. (Gilan, surprisingly, had agreed to do this. Maybe the yoga was making him good-natured.)

As Crowley had expected, everyone was excited about Halt's birthday party. Even King Duncan knew about it—well, not exactly, he was only told to come to this forest (where Halt's party would take place) for a special occasion. The King had no idea Gilan was behind the kidnapping. It was the same case with Baron Arald—he didn't know about Gilan but he knew that he should come here in two days for something "important".

Basically all the rest of the people invited (probably all the fiefs of Araluen, according to Gilan) knew that Halt's birthday party would be in two days' time, but did not know Gilan was the kidnapper. Gilan would have a chance to explain at the birthday party.

It would be all good.

Or so Crowley hoped.

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**Don't kill me for that lame cliffhanger...I needed to gather my thoughts for the next chapter :) Thanks for reading.**


	18. Problems

**CHAPPIE 18! Enjoy!**

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_The day of Halt's birthday party..._

"Meralon! You ready?" a particular lanky Ranger whispered to Ranger Meralon.

"As ready as I'll ever be," came the reply.

"Let's go."

The two Rangers set off, Gilan holding a large, empty sack. They wandered the halls of Castle Araluen, searching for Halt. The birthday man was going to get the surprise of his life.

A door propped open and the short, grizzled Ranger appeared. Gilan made haste to hide the sack.

"Nice to see you, Halt," Gilan said casually. "You look nice today."

Halt frowned. He wore this green-gray cloak all the time. "What are you—" he started, but it was too late. Gilan had already thrown the sack over him.

Halt thrashed and kicked and shouted with fury. What was happening? Then he felt a bump and the sack was swaying from side to side, as if he had just been put on a horse.

"LET ME OUT OF HERE!" Halt shouted, thrashing his arms around, trying to find his Saxe knife. Where the heck was his weapon?

"I took your weapons, Halt," Meralon said from somewhere nearby, as if reading Halt's mind. "No need to be violent today."

Still, Halt kicked and punched at everything he could. But he could not escape the sack.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the forest, Crowley was trying to figure things out. He had many problems right now.

First of all, Gilan was right: it looked like every person in Araluen _was_ here, crowded and squashed in this tiny forest. How was he supposed to hide everyone when there was barely any space to walk?

Second, the Ranger who was in charge of the decorations had forgotten to bring them. There was no time to get them now; Gilan and Meralon would be here any moment. What was a party without decorations?

Crowley groaned for what seemed like the fiftieth time, trying to figure out how to hide so many people. He'd given the second problem to Will, for the apprentice to figure out. Will had just arrived; the ride from Redmont was a long one and the young Ranger hadn't got the notice about Halt's birthday party until a few days ago.

"Have a solution yet?" Crowley called to Will, who was sitting on a log nearby.

Will shook his head. He looked worn-out. Perhaps it was because of the ride; perhaps it was because of all the effort put into solving the problem. Either way, he looked worn-out.

_Well, _thought Crowley, _I could tell the Rangers to hide in the trees. The villagers could hide behind the bushes, and..._

Argh. This party didn't seem so successful anymore. Even if the Rangers hid in the trees, there wouldn't be enough room for so many people to hide behind the bushes.

Crowley thought as hard as he could. He chewed on his hair, which he almost never did. He snapped his fingers thoughtfully. Finally, he got a solution. A good one.

He would tell all the Rangers to use their cloaks and hide in the open. That way, they would remain unseen since Rangers were so good at camouflaging with their cloaks. Next, the more experienced villagers could hide in the tops of the trees. The less bold villagers and the royals (like King Duncan and Cassandra) would hide behind the bushes and the remaining space would be given to residents of Castle Redmont to hide.

It was a perfect plan. Now only if Will had thought of a solution to the decoration problem...

"I've got it!" A shout was heard. Will jumped up from his perch and ran over to Crowley. "I've got it! I've got it, Crowley!" he said excitedly.

Crowley's brow furrowed. "Got what?" he said slowly. There was no time to be excited; he still had to figure out the decoration problem.

"The solution to the decoration problem, of course!" Will said, jumping up and down excitedly.

Crowley smiled broadly. "Great! What is it? What is it?"

That excited expression remained on Will's face. "Well, my solution is...the party shall have no decorations."

"What kind of solution is that?" Crowley said, quite hysterically.

"It's...a bad solution?" Will said quietly.

"Exactly!" Crowley paced back and forth, ripping small chunks of hair out. "I tell you to find a way to get decorations and you tell me that we don't need decorations!"

"Sorry," Will said apologetically. He knew his solution, if it was even a solution, was a bad one. "I was only trying to helpful."

"Mmm hmm," Crowley said sarcastically. "Oh Lord...what will I do? Gilan'll be so mad..."

Will went back to his log, once again thinking hard. But his thoughts were interrupted by a large whinny and snort, coming from what seemed like the edge of the forest.

"GILAN AND MERALON ARE HERE WITH HALT!" Crowley roared, shooing everyone to their hiding spots. "HIDE, EVERYONE!"

Crowley had to shout because there were so many people bustling about. "BERRIGAN! GET THE FOOD OUT! WILL, GO HIDE! THERE'S NO MORE TIME TO FIX THE DECORATION PROBLEM NOW! JUST HIDE!"

At the last moment, Crowley hid himself. Wrapping his cloak around him, he seemed to disappear. When he heard footsteps and grunts coming from ahead, he prayed everyone would keep still.

Then he heard a large _thump _and a groan followed. Then he heard the swishing of a cloak, as if Gilan and Meralon were using their cloaks to camouflage themselves also. Crowley smiled to himself. The plan was going perfectly. Well, aside from the fact that the decoration problem was not solved.

"Where am I?"

Halt's croaky voice rang through the silent forest.

_One...two...three..._Crowley thought. Then, on the count of three, he willed himself to be visible. "SURPRISE!" he screamed, and was happy to see that everyone else in the forest had done the same. They had gone over this several times until everyone was completely in unison. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HALT!"

Halt let out a small smile. They had remembered his birthday.

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**No, this is not the end, but I think next chapter will be the ending. Please review.**


	19. Coffee Soup

Halt got up, and was almost overblown with claps on the back, hoots, shouts, whistling, and happy smiles.

"Thanks," Halt said awkwardly, once everyone had settled down. "It is great you all remembered my birthday."

"You're sixty, aren't you?" Gilan called out loudly.

"Yes, as a matter of fact," Halt replied sadly.

"Why are you so sad, Halt?" Sir Rodney said. Weren't you supposed to be happy on your birthday?

"Sixty is the retiring year," Halt replied simply.

Several people gasped.

"But...you're not going to retire, are you, Halt?" said Will, looking hurt.

Halt looked in Will's direction sadly. _So young..._he thought. And he was so old.

"I hope not," he said in a whisper that was barely audible. His vision blurred because of the tears forming in his eyes.

"Halt—are you _crying?" _a voice called out. Halt couldn't see who it was because his vision was so hazy.

"N-no..." Halt managed to say, before giving up and falling to the ground.

* * *

The world came into focus. Groaning, Halt picked himself off of the ground and sat up groggily.

"What happened?" he managed to say, before he collapsed weakly onto a log.

"You fainted," Gilan said as he put a wet towel on Halt's forehead. "Crowley thinks it's the pressure of retiring."

Halt nodded hazily and straightened himself. He felt embarrassed that he'd fainted in front of everybody. Everyone was staring at him with worried eyes. Halt felt very uncomfortable.

Gilan noted the un-comfortableness in Halt's eyes and body gesture and shooed everyone away. "You guys can start on the food!" he said, pointing to a wooden table with tons of foods on it. Then the senior Ranger turned back to Halt. Crowley came over, holding a bowl of soup.

"Have some birthday soup, Halt," Crowley said cheerfully. He fed Halt (because Halt's arms were shaking) some spoonfuls of the warm soup until it was clean.

"What did you put in it?" Halt said weakly. "It gives me...energy."

Crowley grinned. "Oh, the usual," he said casually. "Coffee soup!"

* * *

"All right! Gather 'round, everyone!" Crowley called to the busy crowd. "Gilan has an important notice to tell you all!"

The crowd began forming a ring around Crowley. With a nod from Crowley, Gilan stepped out. He began explaining everything, from the kidnapping to the party planning. Halt listened intently as he was trying to think of a suitable punishment for such a crime.

"...and now you know why everything is as it is," Gilan with his eyes cast downward. Even though this party was a good cause, he knew he deserved some sort of punishment.

He stepped off the "stage" (a simple wooden platform that Crowley had carved, due to boredom) and disappeared into the crowd, not wanting eyes staring at him from every direction.

"Right," Crowley's voice boomed through the forest as the commandant took charge once more. "Now that you all know what's been going on, let's make sure Halt gets some attention. Halt?"

Halt was taken by surprise, as he'd been thinking about a very appropriate punishment for Gilan.

Crowley gestured to the grizzled Ranger, and Halt slowly made his way to the wooden platform used as a stage.

"What do I say?" Halt hastily whispered into Crowley's ears.

"Anything," Crowley whispered back. "Hi, blah, I'm weird, anything. Just say something."

Halt glared at Crowley, and turned to the crowd. He was speechless. His mind was fogged. _Say anything, Halt. Anything. _

"Thanks," he finally managed. "Thanks for this wonderful party."

Several people cheered. "Without further ado...let's get to the food!" Halt said quickly, as he was famished. His stomach felt surprisingly empty, even though he'd eaten Coffee Soup a few moments earlier.

As Halt stepped off the platform, Crowley nodded. "Yes, I think it's time for the food! Try our special: coffee soup!"

Halt smiled. He had to get more of that soup (it sounded disgusting, but it was actually quite good) before it ran out.

As he made his way to the food table, he received many hoots, claps, warm greetings, and smiles. He never knew so many people cared about him.

Ah, yes! There was that huge pot of coffee soup. Gilan, who was ladling the soup into people's bowls, spotted the birthday man. "Birthday man coming through! Make way for the birthday man!"

Halt found that a path was being made for him as the crowd split to make way for him. He felt like a king.

Gilan gave Halt an extra large amount of the large soup. When Halt protested, he said cheerfully, "No need to be modest on your birthday, Halt! The whole point of a birthday is eating!"

"You sound a lot like Jenny," the grizzled Ranger replied.

Gilan turned red and shouted, "Next!"

"Wait," Halt said, "is there coffee?"

"Yes," said Gilan, pointing to his bowl. "I just gave you some."

"No," Halt said with a sigh. "Just regular coffee."

"Oh," Gilan said, turning red. "Then no."

Halt nearly dropped his bowl. "NO!" he cried furiously. "NO COFFEE?"

"Um...yes, I'm afraid so. We used all of it to make the soup."

Halt sighed and turned around. No day was good unless you had plain, delicious coffee.

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**HAHA! No coffee for Halt...okay, next chapter's the last chapter. Please review. **


	20. Pink and Ponies

**Yes, I am alive.**

**-deep breath- I know y'all want to throw potatoes at me for not updating this sooner, and I just wanted to say I'm really sorry. Really really reallysorry. _Really_. I know how it feels when an author doesn't update for a long time and I know it's really annoying. But I've finally written Chapter 20. It's probably not the best I've ever done :P But it's also not the last chapter of this story (I think next chatper will be the ending.) Well anyway, I'll stop talking now and let you read my really bad chapter. **

* * *

"Happy birthday, Halt!" Crowley called as he brought a large two-tier cake (with sixty candles) over to Halt's table. The partying Araluens followed.

"You got me a cake with _sixty _candles?" Halt said incredulously, staring at the tiny, red wax tubes embedded on the frosty cake.

"Well, yes," Crowley answered. "That's how old you are. Now, make a wish and blow out the candles!"

Halt sighed and started blowing the candles out. It took a long time, partly because there were so many candles, and partly because Gilan kept relighting the candles that had been blown out. When Halt finally finished, he closed his eyes and wished for something.

"What did you wish for?" Gilan said, bouncing up and down. "Huh? Huh?"

"Not telling," Halt said with a smile. "I don't want you to jinx it."

* * *

Once everyone had eaten the cake, Crowley called the Araluens to the wooden platform again.

"Now that we've eaten our fills, it's time for Halt's birthday present!" Crowley said, giving Halt a large wink.

Halt noted that Crowley had said _present, _and not _presents. _He supposed if he'd got only one present, it was bound to be a very good one.

"Halt — your birthday present is from all of us. You get to dare Gilan, or ask him a truth question!" Crowley said in a high-pitched voice, due to the fact that he was so excited. The crowd cheered.

Halt smiled. This was going to be good.

* * *

Gilan, the unlucky next victim of Halt, crept out of the crowd. He looked very nervous.

Crowley stepped back to watch, and the Araluens formed a ring around Gilan and Halt.

Giving Gilan an evil smile, he said: "Truth or Dare, Gilan?"

"Dare," Gilan said in a small voice. He was fidgeting with nervousness.

"I dare you to put a _pink_"—Halt emphasized the _pink_— "dress on and wear it for ten full minutes!" Halt shouted, so everyone could hear.

Gilan's jaw dropped. "Surely you don't—"

"Surely I do," Halt cut in. "Do it!"

"No," Gilan said firmly.

"No?" Halt mused. He paused, and slyly started chanting, "Scaredy cat! Scaredy cat!" The crowd joined in. "Scaredy cat! Scaredy cat!"

Gilan frowned. Then he sighed, though no one could hear it because of the thunderous chants. "FINE!" Gilan shouted at last.

The chants quieted down. "Then do it." Halt folded his hands across his chest and stared at Gilan.

"Where's the dress?" Gilan said.

Halt reached behind his back and pulled a pink frilly dress out.

"Where'd you get that?" the senior Ranger asked, curiously, picking the dress up like it was poisonous.

Halt shrugged. He pointed to the dress. "Wear it."

Gilan looked helplessly at his former mentor, and Halt sighed. "Change behind that bush over there."

Finally, Gilan came out. He looked very goofy and stupid in a pink dress, thus everybody laughed.

"Your ten minutes starts...now."

That ten minutes went by slowly, and every two seconds Gilan would get up and say: "Am I done yet?" and Halt would say, "Shut up. No."

_Two seconds later..._

"Am I done yet?"

"Shut up. No."

"Am I done yet?"

"Shut up. No."

"Am I done yet?"

"SHUT UP! NO!"

"Am I done yet?"

"Nine more minutes and forty-six seconds..."

"Am I done yet?"

"If you don't shut up I will tie you to that tree, pin you with an arrow and paint on you with honey. And you'll have to stay there, with honey on your body, stuck to the tree, not to mention wearing your pink dress, for the rest of the day!"

"..."

Finally, there was a moment where everyone enjoyed silence as Gilan fidgeted inside his hideous dress.

Halt thought this was a perfect dare for two reasons: 1) Gilan had humiliated him during the yoga lesson; and 2) Gilan had caused all this confusion about 'kidnapping' people...

Gilan, however, was thinking about how to get Halt back. He could always..._Ugh. I can't think inside this stupid dress, all I can think about is...pink and ponies. Pink and ponies won't do any good for Halt...wait a minute. Yes. That's it._

A perfect plan was forming inside his head.

Suddenly wearing with idiotic pink dress wasn't so bad after all. Gilan was going to get revenge.

* * *

**Alright, I know it's a big cliffhanger, don't throw more potatoes at me. Just bear with me, 'kay? I'll definitely be back with the last chapter before two months from now :P Have a nice and fluffy day :D (And please, in your reviews, feel free to scold me for my long absense, my horrible chapter, my cliffhanger, or all of the above. Criticism is welcome at this point. XD)**

**Oh, and I would like to thank Bralt for the sixty candles idea, she gives me most of my inspirations, so any bad parts blame me :P And I'd also like to thank JustaBunchaHOOPLA for being a fluffy and pink friend all this time and I think she deserves some recognition too :D Okay bye now XD**


	21. Q & A

**This isn't really an update (sorry) but in your reviews many of you asked me questions about this story, so I thought I'd just take some time to answer some of them. I'll try to update later :)**

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**Q:** So Will is still in his apprenticeship?  
**A:** Yes, yes he is :)

**Q:** Are Will and Alyss dating/married yet?  
**A:** I hadn't really thought of that while planning my plot, and it doesn't really fit into my story outline, so I guess the answer is no, Will and Alyss have shown no affection for each other yet.

**Q:** Isn't coffee soup just coffee in a bowl?  
**A:** Maybe... :D

**Q:** Ooh, are they gonna have cheese at the party? CHEEEEEEEZ  
**A:** No, sorry to disappoint you. But I'll make them eat Doritos if you want :'D

**Q:** why are all the fanfictions for this series as weird as hell?  
**A:** I have no good answer for the question, so...have a cookie. -hands you cookie-

**Q:** I thought Will and Alyss lived in the cabin?  
**A:** Again on the topic of Will and Alyss, I don't think their relationship is present in this story, but if you guys REALLY want it then I'll find a way to weave it into the plot

**Q:** Uh oh, who will do all the unwanted paperwork?  
**A: **I should get a time portal and make Justin Bieber appear and make him do it :D

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**Yeah, so those are some of the questions I found. If you have any more, then feel free to ask (but don't bombard me with questions...you want updates, right? :D) Have a nice day xD**


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